What Happened to Us?
by TJ Sparkles
Summary: At one time, they had been inseparable. And as quickly as it had started, their flame burnt out. What happened? Chris Jericho/Trish Stratus, chaptered fic. A/U.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I'm not sure where this idea really came from, but I'm striking while the iron's hot. This will be a five part series, kind of like my last fic featuring Lita, but with my all time OTP (one true pairing), Chris Jericho/Trish Stratus. I loved these two together and I really, really missed writing them. Each part will be connected, and will chronicle their relationship, the ups and the downs and all that good stuff. I really hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. First part is high school A/U. Enjoy & leave reviews/constructive criticism.

* * *

**

Trish bit her lip and pulled at the hem of her skirt as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. She was beyond nervous for tonight's event. After three years of trying and working her ass off to be noticed, it had finally paid off. The object of her affection had finally noticed her efforts, and now Trish was being rewarded for all of her work in the form of a date with the most popular, handsome guy in the private school she attended in Ontario.

Some would say that she had been a bit overzealous with her efforts, piling on makeup and dressing in sexy clothing to get his attention. After all, there was something to be said for subtlety, right? And Trish really wasn't the kind of girl to go that far to get a guy's attention, but this wasn't just any other guy. This was a guy who blurred the lines of high school hierarchy, a guy who was the quarterback of the football team and lead performer in the choir simultaneously. He wasn't just some regular Joe.

Chris Irvine was worth all of the time Trish had spent, in her eyes. She didn't expect her friends or even her family to understand, but to her, he was more than special. She couldn't quite explain why, either, he just was. They had barely even acknowledged each other during their time at school; in fact, Trish couldn't remember Chris ever having spoken to her before her best friend, Amy, set them up, but she always made sure to say "hi" to him if their paths crossed, or flash a smile at the very least.

Trish had tried so many times to work up the courage to speak to him, but she always backed out at the last minute. What was she going to do? Run up to him and profess her undying love for him? Okay, maybe that was a bit dramatic, but seriously, was Trish really supposed to tell Chris that she had been crushing on him ever since the time he came to her 13th birthday party? He hadn't even done anything other than show up with a present and a smile. So yeah, doing that would go over real well.

Trish could feel her stomach bubbling nervously, and she took a few deep breaths to calm herself as she glanced at herself in the mirror once more. She wasn't dressed immaculately, but she thought that she looked pretty cute in a knee length miniskirt and silver, sparkly halter top. The blonde had no idea where she and Chris would be going on their date, and a part of her was actually worried that he would change his mind at the last minute and leave her hanging. If he did, she supposed she couldn't blame him.

"Be cool, Trish," she soothed. "Be cool. You can do this."

A sigh escaped from her lips as she looked at herself one more time in the mirror before grabbing her small clutch and heading downstairs. To her surprise, Chris was already waiting in the living room when she arrived, talking with her mom and sister and laughing. Trish was perplexed by how comfortable he appeared to be with her family, and a small smile came to her face as she observed the three of them. Perhaps she had been wrong in not making a move sooner, but in her defense, she had been terrified. But the Chris that was just a few feet away from her was anything but scary.

Clearing her throat, Trish walked into the room and nodded at her sisters.

"Christie, Melissa, don't scare the poor boy," she smiled widely. Her two younger sisters looked up, guilty looks on their faces, and shrugged sheepishly.

"We were just talking…" they mumbled in unison. Trish shook her head and smiled widely at Chris.

"I'm really sorry about them," she apologized. "Sometimes I wonder if they're adopted."

"No problem," Chris replied, flashing Trish a dazzling smile. "So, shall we?" He held his hand out to the blonde, laughing when he noticed that her cheeks were flushed.

"Why so nervous, Trish?" he questioned, tilting her chin up with his hand. "Isn't this what you wanted?"

_More than you know_, Trish thought to herself, but kept quiet. She had never thought that Chris would be standing here, in her living room, about to take her out on a date, but he was. She almost had to pinch herself to make sure that it was real, but one look into Chris' eyes told her all she needed to know: he had been just as nervous as she, but now that he'd finally gotten it together and was taking her out, that nervousness had disappeared. Trish had so many things to say to him, so many different feelings to express, but at the same time, she didn't want to hurry things along. Chris was here, now, and that was all that mattered.

Inside, she was squealing. Chris Irvine was actually interested in her. Her, Trish Stratus, practically a nobody and certainly not worth his time.

She just hoped she didn't screw it up. 


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This part's kind of short, and there's no dialogue, but I think it works. I went in fast-forward a little, hopefully it still makes sense. Thanks for all the reviews/faves/alerts!

* * *

**

The relationship was definitely new and, Trish had to admit, a little scary. Each day felt like a journey deeper and deeper into the unknown, with nothing to guide her or assuage her fears. She had absolutely no idea of where the path was going to lead or if there would be a long-term, but it wasn't something she was completely terrified of. A little nervous, yes, but it was nothing she couldn't handle, and besides that, it wasn't like she was on this crazy, insane journey with a total stranger. She had known Chris for many years, and although their relationship had been off and on since high school, the two of them had been able to maintain a very close friendship. Truthfully, neither of them had fallen out of love, and when they were both asked why they had ended their relationship, the general answer of "we were both too young" had been given. And yes, they had both been young, but Trish felt that they both recognized what love was and were experiencing it. They were almost exactly alike, yet different in so many ways.

Chris was one of the few people that Trish could have an intelligent conversation and exchange banter with. Many people were quick to write her off as simple or even naïve simply because of the color of her hair, but Chris had worked insistently to prove that he was different. They had the same sense of humor as well, and when she was around Chris, Trish felt comfortable. She felt more comfortable in her own skin than she had in a long time, maybe the most comfortable she had ever felt. Chris was also misjudged by many. He was a practical joker, always laughing and teasing people, but he had a serious, quiet, contemplative side and was just much more intelligent than people gave him credit for. He was immersed in his music, and often had his head in the clouds as he daydreamed lyrics, but beyond that, he was kind, sweet, caring, and respectful.

Trish thought of them as two peas in a pod, no matter whether they were dating or not, and she knew that shortly, their relationship would be back on again, but there was no rush on either of their parts to make that happen. They were both still young and had plenty of time to enjoy each other's company. For now, Trish was enjoying the ride, and she knew Chris was as well.


	3. Chapter 3

Trish was furious. Angrily, she slammed the door behind her and flung her bags across the room she was presently staying in as she walked over to the bed, sighing as she tried to calm herself down.

_Deep breaths, Trish,_ she told herself. She was normally a calm person, almost unrealistically calm, but even she had a breaking point, and enough was enough. Chris had been playing the hot and cold game with her for weeks now, leaving her very hurt and confused, as well as angry. She had to wonder why Chris had even suggested a vacation in the first place—he'd barely spoken to her lately, why in the world would he want to spend a week alone with her? What would they do? Make small, awkward talk and try to pretend that nothing was wrong when it was clear that they had hit a bump in their relationship? Trish didn't much care for the idea of that. A vacation was meant to be enjoyed. She thought that Chris had arranged this vacation for the two of them so that they could work on their relationship and hopefully repair it, but that didn't seem to be the case. He acted as though he couldn't stand to be around Trish when they were in the same room together, and spent most of the days out by the pool or in the gym. What was the point, really? Trish wanted to make things right again. She loved Chris, despite everything that had been going on lately. She didn't want any rash decisions to be made simply because they had hit a rough patch. What frustrated her, however, was the fact that Chris had to make the relationship so complicated. She loved him, and he loved her, why couldn't it just be as simple as that? But, as he had put it to her, certain events had caused him to take a step back and think about the future—if they had a future together—and what would come of it. Really, Trish believed that Chris was just over-thinking everything because he was nervous, and scared. So was she, but she wasn't ignoring him, or pushing him aside, like he was doing to her.

Trish rested her chin in her hands as she leaned back against the best. One thing that she would never understand about Chris was why he couldn't just go with the flow and enjoy their relationship. She wasn't worried about things like marriage and a family, not because she didn't anticipating it happening in the future, because she definitely wanted both of those things, but because she knew that they would happen when they were meant to. Why waste precious time that could be spent enjoying each other worrying about something that wasn't going to happen for a very long time?

Trish supposed that Chris was only distancing himself from her to give himself time to think, but it hurt when he was sweet and affectionate with her one moment, then totally cold and closed off the next. For the first time, she was having trouble reading her boyfriend, and she didn't like it. Chris had always been very upfront and honest with her, and to see him treating her this way made Trish feel like she was doing something wrong. She couldn't get any answers out of him, and as a result, it was pushing them further away from each other.

Biting her lip, Trish closed her eyes and rested her head on her pillow. A single tear slipped out of her eye, and she wiped it away. She was not going to cry. Chris Jericho was not going to do this to her. His self-righteous attitude and worrying about their relationship was going to end, if it meant she had to walk away. Feeling unwanted was not an emotion Trish would stand for. It just perplexed her that a man who was so sweet to her and went out of his way to make her feel good was now making her question everything.

She sighed a little as she drifted off to sleep, her problems seemingly disappearing as slumber overtook her.


	4. Chapter 4

"Trish, Trish, I need to talk to you," Chris protested as he caught up with the blonde, who was walking beside of Christy, the two of them arm in arm as they headed down to the lobby to get the continental breakfast. Christy wasn't an early riser by any means, but Trish had managed to gently prod her into getting up early and going shopping with her in the form of promising her breakfast first. The blonde stopped in her tracks and turned to face Chris, her eyes dark and her jaw set.

"Oh, wow, look, Chris Jericho actually wants to speak to me." Her hand came up to cover her mouth in fake shock. She nudged Christy, dropping her hand. "Christy, do you believe this? He actually wants to talk to me after ignoring me for three days."

"I heard him," the redhead replied. "Jericho, you had better make it quick."

"I won't take up too much of your time," the blond man insisted, his eyes pleading with Trish. "Just listen to me? Please?"

"Why should I care about anything you have to say?" Trish replied, bitterly. "I mean, you've only ignored me for the duration of this trip, and now you want to talk to me and you think I'll listen? Why should I? Why would I want to?" She folded her arms over her chest. "Well, Chris? Aren't you going to plead your case and tell me that I'm making a big mistake by not listening to you?"

"No," Chris said quietly, his voice barely audible. "I was a jerk to you, and I understand if you don't want to talk to me. I don't blame you for that at all. But…" he paused, running his hands through his long, thick hair, "believe me when I say there's a reason."

"A reason?" Trish scoffed. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "So, let me make sure I heard you clearly. You've ignored me in every way possible, acted like a complete…" she fumbled for the words, clearly frustrated and flabbergasted by Chris' actions. "No, listen to me, Chris. I have spent days worrying, days, do you understand me?" She pointed a finger at him angrily. "I haven't slept in nights because I've been trying to figure out what I did or what I said to make you act this way, and all you can do is tell me that there's a reason? Are you freaking kidding me, Chris?" She threw her hands up in exasperation.

"Trish, please…just listen to me?" Chris' blue eyes were pleading, and Trish found herself looking away quickly. She was not going to let him do this. He owed her more than a simple "sorry". He owed her ia lot/I more than that. Chris had embarrassed and upset her in so many different ways, and she was furious with him for making her feel inadequate. Even simple little gestures like a hug or a kiss on the cheek were not reciprocated, which only added to her insecurities. She just refused to accept that there was a reason for behavior, because she hadn't done anything to make him act that way. She wasn't cheating on him, she never would, but for some reason, he had been distancing himself from her, and she didn't like it, but she'd given up trying to fix it.

"Why?" she repeated. "Why should I listen? Why should I care? You showed no regard for my feelings, Chris. You weren't there when I was scared; you don't know how I felt." Trish sucked in a breath as she ran a hand through her hair. "No idea how I felt," she said quietly.

"Then tell me," Chris replied, as he reached for the blonde's hand. He took her hand in his and squeezed gently, massaging her palm with his thumb as he spoke. "How did I make you feel?"  
"Like I was invisible or something to you," Trish kept her eyes to the floor, "like you just didn't care about me anymore. I don't know why you did this, Chris."

"Neither do I," he replied, and Trish could hear the guilt and regret in his voice, but she chose to ignore it. "God, I've been so stupid, haven't I?"

"Yes." Her answer was curt. Her head snapped up, meeting Chris' vibrant blue eyes. "You hurt me, Chris, you really did."

"I…God." His voice trailed off, as he wrapped his arms around the blonde and pulled her close to him in a tight hug. "I'm so sorry, Trish."

"You keep saying that, but it doesn't mean anything if you're not willing to back it up," the blonde mumbled against his chest.

"Let me try?" Chris released Trish from his grip, tilting her chin up and rubbing her cheek with his thumb. "Please."

"I don't know," Trish stated. "I have to go, Chris, Christy's waiting for me." She turned to leave, but Chris' hand closed firmly around her wrist, pulling her back.

"At least think about it, Trish…please."

"I will, but I can't promise anything," the blonde replied as she jerked out of Chris' grip. 


End file.
